Improvement in fences



' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES HART, OE SPENCER, IOWA.

IMPROVEMENT IN FENCES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 209,680, dated November 5, 1878; application filed March 4, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, JAMES HART, of Spencer, in the county of Clay and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Fences; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawin gs, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, and in which the figure represents a perspective view of my improved portable fence.

My invention relates to portable fences, and its object is to produce a cheap and durable fence that can be readily taken apart and compactly packed for transportation; and the nature of myinvention consists in holding the panels of a fence in an upright position by means of braces or tie-rods having bifurcated metallic plates upon their upper ends and by single metallic plates having orifices for the reception of stakes upon their lower ends, substantially as hereinafter more particularly set forth.

In the annexed drawing, A and B mark the adjoining ends of twopanels of a fence. These panels are composed of ordinary planks b b a a, nailed or otherwise secured to the end pieces, b a, and a middle piece, a, and further made firm and secure by vertical stays midway between the middle and end pieces, and fastened to the boards by suitable 111831118.

The boards are secured upon the middle and end pieces at increasing distances apart from the ground upward, the purpose of which is to prevent small animals from leaving the inclosure.

The end pieces, b a and middle piece, a, have an extension at their lower ends, which are driven into the ground, and which serve to hold the panels in an elevated position. The panels A B are further held in an upright position by means of the braces G D.

The brace G has upon its upper end a bifurcated plate, E, secured thereto by means of the screw-bolt and nut e, or in any other suitable manner, and further secured by its lower end, 0 being bent and driven into the brace.

The arms 0 6 upon the upper end of the said plate E, are bent at an obtuse angle thereto, and are secured to the abutting end pieces or posts, b a, of the panels A B. By means of these arms any unevenness between the adjacent posts of the panels is provided for in connecting the same together, the uniting of the panels facilitated, the fastening-plate relieved from strain, as the arms can be adapted to conform to any slight angle out of a perpendicular line in which the posts may stand, or to yield to any slight vertical movement of said posts, and a simpler and more secure fastening is obtained.

Upon the lower end of the braceO a plate, F, is secured, in a manner similar tothe plate E, and having a bent portion, f, with'an orifice, f, through which a stake is driven to hold the brace G securely to the ground.

The brace D is secured to the middle piece, a by a plate, Gfhaving a single arm, g. Upon the lower end of this brace is secured a plate, H, similar in construction to the plate F upon the brace O.

It will be seen from the foregoing that this fence, being simple in construction, readily placed in position, and held there by means of the braces, (which, being on the outside, are removed from the cattle,) or, when not in use, the parts being readily separated and packed very compactly for either housing or transportation, possesses advantages over the portable fences now in use.

Having'thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat cut, is-

1. In a portable fence, in combination with a wooden brace, metal pieces E, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a portable fence, in combination with a wooden brace, metal pieces E and F, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES HART.

Witnesses:

CHARLES KIRKHAM, E. O. BENDER. 

